Dying sebae anemone?

[oceandiver1980]

Can anyone tell me if this sebae anemone is dying? It has been looking bad for several days, now parts of it are turning brown and shriveled up like blades of grass.

 

[Nurse Payne]

That's not usually a good sign. How long have you had it? What kind of lighting is it under? How new is your tank? Are your nitrates high?

If the foot is still firmly attached and the mouth is tightly closed, it might be ok. If either of these are occurring, that's a bad sign of a dying or severely stressed/injured anemone.

 

[oceandiver1980]

We have had tank for 8 weeks, but was set up from an existing tank taken down and put back up same day with a 30 gal sump. Have had problems with nitrates, been running around 40 ppm. Started dosing with Nopox about 2 weeks ago.

We have LED lighting and leave it on probably longer than we should.

I have heard it can poison water if it goes bad, but not sure when to pull the plug as some of it still looks healthy.

 

[preston469]

it looks like its mouth is wide open as well

 

[Nurse Payne]

I would move the anemone to a qt tank. If it dies in your tank, you're right. It will poison the water and can wipe out your entire tank.

I'm sorry. Sebae anemones are really difficult. Bubble tip are much easier, but I still wouldn't add one to a system younger than one year.

It was probably damaged during collection and you were the unsuspecting buyer. I would pay a deposit next time and leave it at the lfs for several weeks. They shouldn't mind doing this.

 

[oceandiver1980]

Yes he further deteriorated today and died. I will try a bubble tip next time after waiting until tank is more stable. My clowns are missing it though. Thanks for your help.